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Paleontological inaccuracies within The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time series is known for its multiple inaccuracies in its reconstruction of the dinosaurs' world. The following lists contain the various inaccuracies sighted by fans. The series itself *Due to the series' setting in what is presumably intended to be the Maastrichtian age of the late Cretaceous Period (72.1 – 66 million years ago), many of the animals featured are misplaced, both in time and space. Within the main cast, examples include: **Littlefoot, his Grandparents, his mother, Bron, Pat, Old One, Ali, and Ali's Mother the Apatosaurus (hailing from the Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic period, 152 to 151 million years ago). **Petrie, his mother, and Pterano, the Pteranodon (despite P. longiceps living in the late Cretaceous, it lived in the Santonian age, from 86 to 84.5 million years ago). **Spike, the Stegosaurus (Stegosaurus lived, roughly, in the same time span as Apatosaurus.) *Most "Sharpteeth", most notably dromaeosaurs (referred to as "Fast Biters" in the television series), lack a feathery coating likely present in many coelurosaurian theropods. *In early films, Sharpteeth are often shown in a tripodal pose, with pronated, "kangaroo" hands. Though the issue of tripod dinosaurs has largely regressed, the issue of hand pronation persists into recent films. *Ceratopsians, sauropods, stegosaurs, and ankylosaurs throughout the franchise are depicted with elephantine forefeet. * On occasion, sauropods (notably Littlefoot's grandparents in certain scenes) can be seen up to their abdomens in water. The hypothesis that sauropods were primarily aquatic was debunked long ago, even before the films came to be. **Similarly, hadrosaurs, or "Swimmers", obtain their names from their largely marine lifestyles within the series. Hadrosaurs are not known to have been aquatic, or even semi-aquatic. *Sauropod dinosaurs are incorrectly depicted with nostrils on the top of their heads. *Nearly all animals throughout the franchise are depicted with having small ridges on their backs, even when the real animals do not posess anything that would suggest the presence of a ridge. *Petrie is often shown feasting on Tree Stars or other greenery throughout the series, while Pteranodons were more likely to consume fish. *Many if not all of the dinosaurs are seen with noticeable ears, when in reality, a dinosaur ear was just a hole on the side of its head. Series-wide anachronism''s'' *''WIP'' From The Land Before Time (1988) * A Dimetrodon is seen shortly after Littlefoot, Ducky, and Petrie befriend each other. Dimetrodon was a synapsid; a close relative of mammals which lived during the early Permian period, from 295 to 272 million years ago, long before dinosaurs came to be. * It is highly unlikely that the "Domehead" dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus, shown pursuing Cera, was openly predatory. However, some scientists have proposed that P. wyomingensis was omnivorous due to the shape of its teeth. ** Perhaps noting this, the novelisation depicts the attack as a revenge strike in response to a previous slight. * Struthiomimus ''were most likely not egg-thieves, as depicted in the film. * The [[Peteinosaurus|''Peteinosaurus]]'' in this film has a short, crest on its head, while the real animal had no such crest. * The [[Proganochelys|''Proganochelys]]'' in this film has a frog-like tongue and has a quadrupedal lizard like gait, neither of which the real animal had. * The [[Colossochelys|''Colossochelys]]'' in this film tries to eat Ducky despite being a herbivore. It also is anachronistic, as it lived after the dinosaurs. * ''Pachycephalosaurus is depicted with sharp, dromaeosaurian claws on their feet and hands. In reality, pachycephalosaurs had small claws, unlikely to be of much use. * Many of the creatures seen at Littlefoot's birth are anachronistic, as they lived before the age of dinosaurs * The ''Triadobatrachus'''' which Littlefoot encounters is anachronistic, as it lived before the dinosaurs. * The [[Hylonomus|''Hylonomus]]'' in this film has a sail, which the real animal never had. It is also anachronistic, as it lived before the dinosaurs. From ''The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994) *''Struthiomimus'' ("Egg Stealers") were most likely not egg-thieves, as depicted in the film. *Beginning in this film, pterosaurs are depicted as largely bipedal. The skeletons of pterosaurs were built to accomodate quadrupedal locomation on land, not bipedal. *Beginning in this film, Spike (a Spiketail) is, oddly, depicted without a thagomizer. *Chomper, the baby Tyrannosaurus rex, should have a more slender skull, and a layer of down. *The Nothosaurus in this film is portrayed as having a long streamlined body of a serpent and a line of spikes running down its back, giving the impression of almost a dragon-like appearance. Though Nothosaurus did have stream-lined body and was well adept for swimming, its body was never like that of snake's and never had any distinct features running along its back. The habitat of the animal is also depicted as barren and slimy, but in reality, Nothosaurus lived in a lush ocean ecosystem. Nothosaurus is also anachronistic, as it lived during the time of Triassic period, a time period before the time that the film is set in.. *The ''Scutosaurus'''' in this film is depicted with a horn on its nose, which the real animal did not have. It and the ''Moschops ''in this film are also anachronistic as they lived before the dinosaurs. *The [[Kuehneosaurus|''Kuehneosaurus]]'' seen in the opening of this film is anachronistic, as it lived in the Triassic, a time period before the time that the film is set in. *The ''Edmontosaurus ''seen in this film lacks the small head crest that the real animal had. However, this wasn't discovered until years after the film's release. From ''The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995) *More anachronistic main characters: **Hyp, the Hypsilophodon (from the Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous, 130 to 125 million years ago). **Mutt, the Muttaburrasaurus (from the Albian and Cenomanian ages, in both the early and late Cretaceous, 112 to 96 million years ago). **Nod, the Nodosaurus (Nodosaurus lived in a similar time span to that of Muttaburrasaurus, 100 to 97 million years ago). *The film's Velociraptor is depicted as almost identical in appearance to the raptors from Jurassic Park, with the basic appearance of a featherless Deinonychus and the size of an Achillobator. In reality, Velociraptor was the size of a coyote, had feathers covering a good portion of its body, and was not nearly as intelligent as portrayed in the film. *Hyp and his father hardly resemble real life Hypsilophodon. They are very large for their proposed species, and have rigid, defined jaw lines. Hypsilophodon was, in reality, not much larger than a medium sized dog, and had a small beak. Impressions from other, similarly sized ornithischians also suggest that H. foxii was covered in a layer of spiny down. *Mutt looks more like a generic hadrosaur than Muttaburrasaurus, the iguanodont species that he is based on. *The two ''Dromaeosaurus'''' seen in this film have significantly less feathers than the real animal, though they do have quills on the back of their necks. From ''The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists (1996) *Main character anachronisms: **Dil, the Deinosuchus (Deinosuchus is only known from the Campanian stage of the late Cretaceous, 80 to 73 million years ago). **Ichy, the Ichthyornis (Ichthyornis lived in from the Cenomanian up until the Coniacian, 95 to 85 million years ago). * A ''Hydrotherosaurus'''' appears as a Swimming Sharptooth in the film. Hydrotherosaurus only ate small fish, and would not attempt to attack a Deinosuchus like Dil. It also appears in freshwater despite being a saltwater creature. * Ichy, the [[Ichthyornis|''Ichthyornis]]'' seen in this film lives far away from the ocean and tries to attack small dinosaurs, while the real animal was a seabird and ate mostly fish. * The [[Mosasaurus|''Mosasaurus]] in this film has no tail fluke, unlike the real animal. A recent study has also concluded that many marine reptiles, like Mosasaurus, ''were black in color, while the animal in the film is a stone grey. * Archie, the ''Archelon seen in this film, lives in a cave far away from the ocean, the location where the real animal lived and found its food. * The Edmontosaurus ''seen in this film lacks the small head crest that the real animal had. However, this wasn't discovered until years after the film's release. From [[The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island|''The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island]] (1997) * Bizarrely, Chomper is depicted with three fingers, as opposed to two. This error persists into future installments in the franchise. * A Giganotosaurus is featured in the film. G. carolini lived in a very short section of the Cenomanian age, long before the days of T. rex. Giganotosaurus also lived in South America, an entire hemisphere away from where T. rex fossils have been discovered. * The Sharptooth Flyer (Pterodactylus) seen in this film is seen carrying Ducky with one of her hind limbs. This is impossible, as pterosaur feet were not at all built for grabbing objects. ** Likewise, it is also seen in this film as a large predatory pterosaur who hunts small dinosaurs. In real life, the animal was small and ate insects. It is also temporally misplaced, as the real Pterodactylus lived in the Tithonian age, 150 to 148 million years ago. From The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (1998) *Anachronisms: **Doc, the Diplodocus (D. carnegii lived in the Kimmeridgian stage of the late Jurassic, 154 to 152 million years ago.) **Mrs. Maia, the Maiasaura (Maiasaura, though a product of the late Cretaceous, lived in the Campanian age, around 75 million years ago.) *The film's Allosaurus, the Brown Sharptooth, has multiple problems: **It is depicted with only two visible fingers. This can be considered a highly elementary mistake, as the real dinosaur's three fingers are one of its most notable traits. **Aside from a fleshy ridge surrounding its eye, the Sharptooth's head is shaped like that of a T. rex. The real Allosaurus had a curved, sloping skull. **It is depicted as being the same size as a T. rex, when it would have been smaller in reality. ***However, the large size of this Allosaurus could have been based off of Saurophaganax, a larger dinosaur that was a close relative of Allosaurus. The size of this Allosaurus ''may also be based on the fact that many believe ''Saurophaganax the same species as Allosaurus, which could boost Allosaurus' ''maximum size. **It is temporally misplaced. ''Allosaurus lived in the Kimmeridgian and Turonian stages of the late Jurassic, from 155 to 150 million years ago. From The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire (2000) *Anachronisms: **Sierra, the Cearadactylus (C. atrox lived in the Albian stage of the early Cretaceous, 112 million years ago.) **Rinkus, the Rhamphorhynchus (Rhamphorhynchus lived from 150 to 148 million years ago, in the Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic.) *Sierra is seen grasping Ducky with one of his hind limbs. This is impossible, as pterosaur feet were not at all built for grabbing objects. *In this film, ''Archaeopteryx'''' is capable of flight, which it shouldn't be able to do, as powered flight had not yet evolved. *In a story told by Grandpa Longneck, explaining the elders' distrust of Pterano, a ''Deinonychus pack is said to be responsible for the massacre of an entire group of dinosaurs led by the pterosaur. Their depiction is inaccurate for multiple reasons: **They are depicted without feathers. This is somewhat excusable, as the film was likely produced prior to the discovery that most dromaeosaurs were covered in feathering. **They are, bizarrely, depicted with only two fingers. All known dromaeosaurids, with the exception of Balaur bondoc (which is likely not even a dromaeosaur), are known to have three fingers. **It is extremely unlikely that even a large pack of Deinonychus would be capable of taking down the amount of dinosaurs implied in the scene, let alone dinosaurs such as Ankylosaurus and Styracosaurus. **They are, as per most creatures in The Land Before Time, temporally misplaced. Deinonychus lived in the Aptian and Albian stages of the early Cretaceous, 115 to 108 million years ago. From The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze * The ''Albertosaurus'''' seen in this film lacks the crests that the real animal had over its eyes, which were likely brightly colored and used for attracting mates. From The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water * In this film, as seen in ''The Stone of Cold Fire, ''Archaeopteryx'''' is capable of flight, which it shouldn't be able to do, as powered flight had not yet evolved. * Seahorses are seen in Mo's Home, despite the fact that seahorses didn't evolve until the Neocene period of the Cenozoic. From The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration * The [[Argentinosaurus|''Argentinosaurus]]'' in this film appears to be a similar size to most of the other sauropods in the franchise, while in real life, the animal would be bigger than any of the other sauropods in ''The Land Before Time. (in length and weight, not height) From The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses * In this film, the adult ''Mussaurus'''' are similar in size to or smaller than the younger members of the species, when they should be larger. From [[The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers|''The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers]]'' (2006) * After the Universal logo is shown in the opening, the continents merge back into the supercontinent, Pangea. Pangea existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, whereas the events in the franchise take place during the late Mesozoic era. * The [[Tupuxuara|''Tupuxuara]]'' seen in the movie has a crest that stands straight up, unlike the real animal, which has a crest that sweeps back over the animal's head. * The [[Cryptoclidus|''Cryptoclidus]] seen in this film have no teeth. How a toothless plesiosaur can catch fish to survive is unknown. They are also seen living in freshwater. How a strictly saltwater animal can live in freshwater is unknown. * The Spinosaurus ''depicted in the film has multiple issues, largely due to having been superseded by recent discoveries: ** It is depicted as a biped. Though it is unclear whether or not the recent neotype is valid, some scientists believe that, with the newly discovered short legs of the creature, it would likely be incapable of bipedal movement. ** Its skull is reminiscent of ''Suchomimus, lacking the real animal's nasal crest and the kink in its premaxilla (upper jaw). ** It is, akin to the series' Utahraptor, Deinonychus, and Allosaurus, depicted with only two fingers. Real life Spinosaurus had three fingers, likely with a large thumb. ** Its sail is similar to that of a Dimetrodon, and lacks the recently discovered kink. ** Finally, it is temporally misplaced. Spinosaurus lived from 112 to 97 million years ago, during the Albian and Cenomanian stages of the middle Cretaceous. From The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends (2007) *The Yellow Bellies carry only a very vague resemblance to the dinosaur Beipiaosaurus, which they are explicitly stated to be in promotional materials, for various reasons: **Their claws are much too short. B. inexpectus was a therizinosaur, a type of theropod dinosaurs known for having very long, sharp claws. **Yellow Bellies carry a striking resemblance to the recently extinct Dodo, while their real life counterparts own a body plan much more resemblant of related ornithomimids and tyrannosaurs, resembling an avian bear to a degree. **The Yellow Bellies are lacking in feathers, which the real animal was likely covered in. **Oddly, the Yellow Bellies completely lack a tail, aside from a "ponytail" of feathers sprouting from their rumps. **Last but not least, they are also temporally misplaced: Beipiaosaurus inexpectus lived in the Aptian stage of the early Cretaceous, 124 million years ago. *The Baryonyx pack featured in the film have four fingers, and robust skulls. The dew claw on the Baryonyx is also positioned high up near the leg, and not on the ankle where it should be. From The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave (2016) *Etta the Pteranodon is portrayed as a sizable character, with a large crest. These two traits are only known from male Pteranodon, even though Etta is a female. *The ''Yutyrannus'''' pair featured in this film are somewhat lacking in feathers, while the real animal would have been almost entirly covered in them. Also, as per most creatures in ''The Land Before Time, they are temporally misplaced; Yutyrannus hailed from the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous, approximately 125 million years ago. *The Carnotaurus featured in the film has several inaccuracies: **It is depicted with visible fingers. C. sastrei, alongside most other abelisaurids, did not have visible appendages on their forelimbs, with their arms having severely atrophied down the evolutionary path. **Its arms are depicted as being longer than in real life, and the arms face forward instead of being pulled backward like in the real animal. **It is depicted with large, forward facing horns, while the real animal had short horns which faced either upward or sideways, depending on the depiction. **It is depicted as large and stocky, while the real animal was smaller and had a leaner body to allow it to run faster. *Though confirmed to be a ''Nothronychus'''' by official media, Wild Arms is much smaller and has less feathers and shorter claws than the real animal. From The Land Before Time (TV Series) *Ruby and the other ''Oviraptor are too large for their species (closer in size to Citipati than Oviraptor), and are somewhat lacking in feathers. *The Rutiodon pack seen in the episode, The Amazing Threehorn Girl, are too large compared to the real animal. They are also temporally misplaced, as Rutiodon ''lived in the Carnian, 228 million years ago. *The [[Segnosaurus|''Segnosaurus]]'' family seen in the episode, The Cave of Many Voices, have a few inaccuracies: **They have no feathers, which the real animal was likely covered in. **They are depicted with shorter claws, larger heads, and shorter necks than the real animal. **They are much smaller and less stocky compared to the real animal. *In the episode, Stranger From the Mysterious Above, an herbivorous ''Microceratus (the Great Hideous Beast) is seen terrorizing a group of Ceratogaulus. This is scientifically inaccurate for multiple reasons: **Being a small, peaceful herbivore, Microceratus would have very little reason to attack a small colony of mammals. **Both of the animals are temporally misplaced. Microceratus lived in the Turonian, 90 million years ago, while Ceratogaulus lived during the Neogene period of the Cenozoic. Category:Lists